In U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,614 to Faulkner, there is described a raised terrace floor system that can be quickly and economically laid down upon a sloping or irregular subsurface to provide a level deck. The system involves the use of foam pedestals that are mounted upon the non-level substructure. The pedestals are then sheared using a hot wire cutter so that the top surfaces of the pedestals are all horizontally level. The pedestals are laid down in rows and columns so that relatively large paving blocks can be set upon the top of the pedestals in corresponding rows and columns thus establishing the deck. Joint dividers are placed upon the top of the pedestals when the corners of the blocks come together thus insuring that the blocks are uniformly spaced and aligned over the deck surface.
The above described Faulkner system, because it can be quickly and accurately installed, has found wide acceptance, particularly in buildings such as high rise structures having one or more set back locations. The rooftop area at the set backs are typically sloped in one or more directions to provide drainage of rain water or melting snow and thus avoid the problems associated with standing water. When installed on a rooftop or the like, the Faulkner system provides a highly usable terrace that can be put to any number of practical uses, thus utilizing what has heretofore been wasted space.
The Faulkner system, as described in the above noted '614 patent, typically employs 8 inch square pedestals that are spaced apart on 2 foot centers. Smaller interlocking pavers which are about equal in size of a standard brick cannot be facilitated by the system because of the wide spacing between pedestals.